Raymond Mitchell was born on February 2, 1926, in Garysburg, North Carolina, the fifth son of Charlie Robert and Amie (Wyche) Mitchell. He was educated in the Northampton County public schools where he walked daily with his sisters and brothers. As a child, he loved to play marbles and became the school and neighborhood champion - no one could beat him at his game! He was considered "the best" at marbles at Mt. Mariah School.

Raymond gave himself the name "Mack" according to him! As a child, he was quiet, handsome and somewhat of a self-professed loner within the family. Mack was all ready to "go to the mourner's bench" and join the Roanoke Salem Missionary Baptist Church when his mother caught him smoking! She refused to allow him to be baptized until he stopped smoking. So . he never got baptized until many, many years later in life. He did not realize that it was probably her way of trying to stop him from smoking! He left home at age 15 and went to Orange, New Jersey - all against the wishes of his parents, especially his mother. He wanted to work on his own - doing what he chose to do!

At age 18, Mack was drafted by Uncle SAM and chose the United States Navy where he served two years - from 1944 to 1946. He was married briefly to Lucille Rodgers. Lucille wanted to stay close to her mother, so Mack chose to go back to New Jersey alone. He later met and spent many years with his friend and companion, Aileen Meyers. Mack and Aileen never married or had a family, but he did have is dog - "Duke." After Mack and Duke moved back to North Carolina, Aileen would often visit but preferred to live in New Jersey; she later died in the 1990s.

Mack was a hard and dedicated worker, sometimes working a part-time job. He worked at the East Orange Veterans' Administration Hospital for thirty-one years: from 1950-1981. He often allowed his nephews to stay with him for a while when they left home for the "big city" and his door was always open to family visitors. While living in New Jersey, Mack became somewhat of a billiards champion. In 1971, he won the billiards tournament championship plaque, a cash award and his favorite liquor from Friend's Tavern at 16 South Center Street, Orange, New Jersey.

Mack retired in 1981 and lived part of the year at the family farm in Northampton County and the other part back in Newark. Mack remodeled the family farmhouse and took excellent care of the property. As if still in the Navy, he mopped the deck almost daily; the house was spotless! In 1990, the family presented Mack with a plaque in appreciation for the hard work and dedication he put into the farm. He was baptized in August, 2001.

Mack quietly departed this life at his beloved home on November 21, 2002 in Garysburg, North Carolina.